Author Topic: On the commute today (Read 2483294 times)

Si S · « **Reply #18425 on:** 27 April, 2016, 08:31:04 am »

Yep still cold.

matthew · « **Reply #18426 on:** 27 April, 2016, 10:14:39 am »

First day back after a long weekend in the Lakes, bright, crisp, and still. Beautiful but the new road works and temporary traffic lights were annoying.

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #18427 on:** 27 April, 2016, 12:52:32 pm »

My commute would be much nicer without the school run drivers.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #18428 on:** 27 April, 2016, 05:33:20 pm »

School would be much nicer without the school run drivers!

Feanor · « **Reply #18429 on:** 27 April, 2016, 05:49:11 pm »

Perfectly timed.
40 minutes of heavy sleet and hailstones on the way home.

mcshroom · « **Reply #18430 on:** 27 April, 2016, 05:56:08 pm »

Still sunny, still cold. Brr

Andrew Br · « **Reply #18431 on:** 28 April, 2016, 01:42:08 am »

My first commute in a long time and it wasn't good; I got a rear puncture on the way in.
I tried the "pump and ride, pump and ride" technique and it worked for a few miles before I decided to try CO₂. The result with the 1st cartridge was good so I used another. That wasn't so good; it blew the tyre off the rim and popped the tube. By then I was only about a mile from work so I pushed it the rest of the way. I wasn't late but I'd rather have got there earlier.
I wasn't due to finish work until 23.30 so I realised that I'd have to fix the flat since there's no public transport that I'm aware of at that time. (My preferred option would have been to get the bus/tram home and collect the bike in the car and sort it out at home.)
As luck would have it, I passed the end of my road on the route so I popped home to pick up my track pump and a spare tyre. It was tempting to get the Disco instead and use that to ride home but it would have been frowned upon on H&S grounds if I'd put it in the back of the van.
I thought that the puncture had been caused by glass from either fly-tipping on the cycle path near Kenworthy Woods or from the re-cycling centre in Sharston (the road glitters in the sunshine) but it turned out to be a piece of wire that had got through the tread and protection belt.
Fixing it didn't take long but getting the wheel back on was a pain because the spring from the chain tensioner got caught and it took me ages to unjam it (I commute on the Rohloff bike). My problems weren't over then though. The spare tube had a dodgy valve and it was letting out almost as much air as the pump was putting in. A vigorous bout of pumping that had my arms burning got enough air in, or so I hoped. Thank goodness I'd picked up the track pump; I don't think my smaller pump would have worked.
Another issue was that there was/is no rim tape on the wheel. WTF ? I've no idea why I didn't put any on after I had the wheel rebuilt

.
After this catalogue of errors, I decided to ride home via Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle and Didsbury as an experiment. It seems a good route (at least at 0.30) and I got home at 01.00.
I'm going to have a lie-in tomorrow/today and, until I can get some new tubes and rim tape, I'll either drive in or use the Disco.

Si S · « **Reply #18432 on:** 28 April, 2016, 08:15:06 am »

It's snowing, I'm in nearly full winter kit, its so cold that the canal is steaming and coming the other way is a guy in short sleeves, shorts and track mitts

Get to work and b*gg*r me there's another one, mind you this one had no guards, the full shaking thing going on, was an interesting shade of blue and heading for A&E

L CC · « **Reply #18433 on:** 28 April, 2016, 08:22:58 am »

Ice on the puddles and that cold cold air found every gap in my layers.
Loads of 'proper' cyclists out, all overtaking me

Guy · « **Reply #18434 on:** 28 April, 2016, 08:27:23 am »

Another bright frosty morning, though without yesterdays' poxy biting wind. All the puddles were solid, the grass white and crispy, parked cars silvery-sparkly yet the sun was cooking my knees.

sg37409 · « **Reply #18435 on:** 28 April, 2016, 08:55:20 am »

Light frost on the cars, bright sunshine and no wind at all. I went to shorts a couple of weeks ago when we had the nice weather, and haven't gone back, I don't feel the cold that much I think. Beautiful morning to ride in today. Being smaller than a GBFO 4*4, just have to be careful of the low sun behind me on dirty windscreens.

I've somehow avoided any rain/hail/snow showers in last few days others have been reporting. RESULT !

fuzzy · « **Reply #18436 on:** 28 April, 2016, 01:55:03 pm »

Lovely bright, crisp morning but bugger me if I didn't need a set of replacement toes on arrival.

matthew · « **Reply #18437 on:** 28 April, 2016, 03:35:44 pm »

Quote from: fuzzy (retd.) AAGE on 28 April, 2016, 01:55:03 pm

Lovely bright, crisp morning but bugger me if I didn't need a set of replacement toes on arrival.

yep, I dressed for winter with my fleecy boots and avoided this but I suspect I will bake on the way home as payback.

TimO · « **Reply #18438 on:** 28 April, 2016, 04:22:24 pm »

Yesterday, on the way home, was the wettest and probably least pleasant commute I've had for several years.

Foolishly, I waited at work for the storm to pass, but eventually decided it wasn't going to do anything beyond flashes of lightning and thunder. After about ten minutes of dry roads, it started to rain, and continued doing that heavily for the hour or so that it took me to get home.

It wasn't so much the rain, but that it was barely above freezing, as witnessed by the hail that I also had to suffer for a short while. My hands, feet and face were painful from the cold. I had to wear my slightly heavier shoes this morning, since the other pair are still soaking wet. I'm not sure it they'll have dried out for tomorrow!

Not that I'm paranoid, but yesterday started off sunny, as today did, and then got a bit gloomy, with showers forecast later, as they have been for today . . .

I am not staying at work very late today!

Si S · « **Reply #18439 on:** 29 April, 2016, 08:29:35 am »

Last night as I left I could see the storm closing in so I was charging down Kings Road, not quick enough though, stopped at the lights outside Stretford Mall and FLASH, BOOM and huge lumps of ice fell out the sky even through my gloves and buff it stung.

Finally got a bit of help off the wind this morning, its been a tough week.

Guy · « **Reply #18440 on:** 29 April, 2016, 08:50:08 am »

A beautiful bright sunny morning with no frost. The biting head wind was a cruel touch

mcshroom · « **Reply #18441 on:** 29 April, 2016, 09:22:14 am »

Started in sleet and finished in heavy rain. Waterproofs mainly did their job.

There's some very white looking fells over Ennerdale/Wasdale way

CrinklyLion · « **Reply #18442 on:** 29 April, 2016, 07:07:45 pm »

The B1228 between 8:30 and 9:30 is hideous. And by the time I got to work my feet were so cold that it hurt to walk...

Then I missed the brief bit of outdoor brightness for the return trip due to one of those jobs that just has to be done and then rather a lot of unintended extra time at the coalface. Then a colleague was kind.

tonycollinet · « **Reply #18443 on:** 30 April, 2016, 09:28:06 am »

I am now classifying my rides by the number of muppets I encounter.

Yesterday's commute to work was a 3 muppet ride.

TimO · « **Reply #18444 on:** 30 April, 2016, 03:38:43 pm »

Yesterday, for the first time ever in eight years of cycling this route, I met a cyclist going in the opposite direction on the Hermitage Path. I've had cyclists going in the same direction, in front or behind me, but I've never met another cyclist coming towards me.

Jakob W · « **Reply #18445 on:** 30 April, 2016, 05:24:32 pm »

Did you high-five them?

TimO · « **Reply #18446 on:** 30 April, 2016, 06:39:42 pm »

Quote from: Jakob W on 30 April, 2016, 05:24:32 pm

Did you high-five them?

After a ten hour day, which was one of my shorter days this week, and only a couple of miles from home, I was just concentrating on the remainder of the journey. It's also possible they didn't feel the same way.

Kim · « **Reply #18447 on:** 30 April, 2016, 07:31:48 pm »

Yeah, they probably meet cyclists going the other way all the time.

TimO · « **Reply #18448 on:** 01 May, 2016, 09:08:03 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 30 April, 2016, 07:31:48 pm

Yeah, they probably meet cyclists going the other way all the time.

Some people have all the luck.

sg37409 · « **Reply #18449 on:** 02 May, 2016, 08:55:26 am »

Heavy rain. Bank holiday meant traffic lighter, hence faster. Buses able to nip in and out much easier for them, altogether, bit of a shit commute today.